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Texting is a crucial part of dating. In a world filled with social media, we do more and more communicating via text – through our smartphones, through apps like Snapchat and WhatsApp. In fact, for a lot of people, texting is their preferred means of communication – actually calling on the phone is an anxiety-producing nightmare that would fit in perfectly in a Hieronymous Bosch depiction of Hell.

“IF I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU, I WOULDN’T BE USING MY THUMBS LIKE GOD INTENDED!”

But regardless of whether it’s a matter of convenience, speed or a preferred method for delivering plausibly deniable nudity, the more connected we become, the more important texting becomes when we want to connect, flirt and date.

Unfortunately, that also means a lot of people are doing it wrong. While texting can be a powerful tool for generating interest and getting dates, it’s also the means by which you can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. If you’re suddenly getting radio silence from the people you’ve been texting with, you’re going to want to make sure you’re not making these deadly texting mistakes.

Are you a nice guy? This may be part of what holds you back in dating. See, there’s a problem inherent with being nice (as opposed to being a Nice Guy): it’s unsexy.The “nice guy” is pleasant and safe… and bland.

Whenever someone is describing their partner and comes out with “he’s a nice guy and…” then the countdown clock to their break-up has started. When somebody describes their partner as “nice”, it’s a tacit admission that they’re with them because they think they should want them.

But they don’t. He doesn’t actually excite them. What they’ve chosen is someone “appropriate”. What they want is someone who’s sex on toast.

Which sounds like a special at Denny’s Late Night…

But being “nice” doesn’t mean that you have to kiss attraction good bye. It doesn’t mean you have to turn yourself into an asshole instead. Here’s the secret to overcoming being the “nice guy” and becoming the “hot guy”.

We all want to look better. The problem is just how to go about doing so. After all, unless you’re willing to undergo expensive, painful surgery, you’re going to have to work with the facial features you’re born with.

Also, a willingness to spend the next six months looking like you’re Claude Raines.

The problem, of course, is that this also costs money. But that’s where I come in. If you know what you’re doing, it’s possible to completely change your look without busting your budget in the process.

When you write a dating advice column, one of the inevitable questions that comes up is the idea of inexperience.

For many men, especially as they get older, dating inexperience is a vicious catch-22. Women – supposedly – won’t date a man with little or no dating experience. Of course that then leads to the question of just how is he’s supposed to get that experience…

And for my next trick, I will ask an AI to divide by zero.

For a lot of men, the anxiety surrounding their dating inexperience can be overwhelming. They become intimidated by women whom they fear have more experience than they do. They become too afraid to approach anyone, never mind people they’re attracted to. They set themselves up for failure by looking for reasons why others couldn’t possibly like them or why they couldn’t improve, and wait for the Universe to deliver instead.

But your inexperience doesn’t have to be the handicap you think it is. Here’s how to overcome your dating inexperience and find the success you want.

Small talk. Just the words fill people with existential dread. It conjures up images of being stuck at a party or networking event and getting caught in the awkward conversation loop where nobody can think of anything to say. It’s the worst part of any first date. It is 100% pure undiluted cringe in social form.

“Sooo…”

But for as much as we dread small talk and wish we could just skip it entirely, it’s actually a necessary part of socializing. Small talk isn’t space filler, it’s social bonding; it’s the building of relationships between people that allows us to actually bridge the gap between the social space and exchanging supposedly “meaningful” talk. By making small talk, we set ourselves up to be able to ask the “big” questions… but that doesn’t mean that small talk is useless otherwise. In fact, making more small talk actually makes people – even introverts – happier. Knowing how to make small talk helps break us out of a bubble of isolation and makes us feel more connected to the people around us. It’s simply a matter of knowing how.